Research Shows FerAppease® Improves Pregnancy Rates and Provides Strong ROI for Dairy Producers
Jan 20, 2026
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (January 20, 2026) — A recent peer-reviewed study conducted under commercial dairy conditions shows that administering FerAppease®—a unique analogue of the naturally occurring Maternal Bovine Appeasing Substance (mBAS)—at the time of artificial insemination (AI) significantly improved fertility in lactating Holstein cows. The research demonstrated a 12.5-percentage-point increase in pregnancy per AI (P/AI), representing a 26% relative improvement compared with untreated cows, along with an 833% return on investment (ROI).
“Reproductive efficiency is critical to the sustainability and profitability of dairy operations, as it directly influences milk production, the generation of replacement heifers, and involuntary culling rates,” says Dr. Reinaldo Cooke, Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, and the lead author of the study. “Stress around the time of AI is known to impair cow fertility. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of FerAppease on pregnancy rates of lactating Holstein cows. FerAppease has been shown to reduce behavioral and physiological stress responses in cattle. This research is the first to demonstrate a direct reproductive benefit in dairy cows.”
Conducted across two commercial dairy operations, the study included 375 cows (178 primiparous and 197 multiparous cows) randomly assigned to receive FerAppease or no treatment (control group). Researchers used an ovulation-synchronization protocol, plus standard AI procedures, and pregnancy diagnosis was performed 32 days after AI via transrectal ultrasonography.
The results, which are published in the JDS Communications, showed that FerAppease-treated cows achieved a 60.2% pregnancy rate, compared with 47.7% in the control group (a 12.5-percentage-point improvement). Statistical analysis found no differences between treatment groups in milk yield, days in milk or estrus incidence during the synchronization protocol, isolating FerAppease as the primary driver of improved pregnancy outcomes.
The fertility increase translated to an estimated 833% ROI, assuming $200 per pregnancy and a product cost of $3.00 per cow. This ROI translates into each $1.00 invested in FerAppease provides $8.30 of economic benefit.
“By reducing acute stress responses, FerAppease helped improve conception rates, offering dairy producers a practical, non-hormonal tool to support herd reproductive performance,” says Dr. Rodrigo Bicalho, D.V.M, FERA Diagnostics & Biologicals founder and CEO. “These results provide evidence that FerAppease administered during stress-sensitive periods such as AI can help producers improve fertility and economic outcomes.”
All ingredients in FerAppease are FDA-approved under GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). Its use does not require a veterinarian’s prescription or a Veterinary Feed Directive plan, and there are no meat withholding requirements.
Zinicola, M., Cooke, R., & Larghi, F. (2025). Administering the maternal bovine appeasing substance improves fertility in lactating dairy cows. JDS Communications. Manuscript ID: JDSC.2025-0876.R2.
About FERA Diagnostics & Biologicals
FERA Diagnostics & Biologicals is a privately held animal health company based in College Station, Texas. Combining innovation and science, FERA introduced FerAppease to address the hidden health and economic costs of cattle stress.
